How do I run power to detached garage?

J

JOhnH

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
May 20, 2009
Messages
14,202
Location
Florida
Display Name
Display name:
Right Seater
I live on a corner and I just purchased the house/lot next door. I plan to demolish that house and incorporate the yard into my yard, giving me just about an acre. I plan to build a detached garage/workshop (~1,000 sq feet) on the additional space. Since I will be joining the two lots into one, I cannot have a separate power meter installed in the new lot. So I have to run power from my existing meter to the new. But my power is connected to the south side of my house and the new garage will be about 150 feet to the north, with my house and in-ground pool in between.

What am I looking at as far as getting electric over there?

I could run a line through the attic, and down to the ground and then under ground to the new structure.

Or I could run an underground line all the way around the house and pool, but that would probably add an extra 150 feet to the run.

Or, my current air conditioner is on the North side of the house with a 220 volt line already there. Could I potentially tap off of that and run about 75 feet under ground to the new workshop?

How big a job (cost wise) am I looking at? I know heavy copper wire is $$$ these days. Plus qualified electricians don't come cheap.

If I do NOT join the two properties, I could have a dedicated power meter and water hookup installed, but that would entail substantial additional utility bills. Plus, annual property taxes would be much higher that way. Plus, a new structure on single lot requires 1500 square foot minimum structure and I don't want something that big. (Well, I do but my wife doesn't).
 
First off, what are the power requirements at the outbuilding? That makes a difference.
You can't go over or under the pool. The longer you go, the larger the wire needs to be to forstall resistive losses. You need to trench direct bury in 24" (you can go to 6" if you use conduit and you don't pass under driveways, etc..)

I have no idea what your local environment is like, but here it's got nothing whatsoever to do with "combining lots." You can't get more than one service (i.e. meter) per structure, but multiple structures, they're happy to serve even if they are on the same lot.
 
JOhnH said:
I live on a corner and I just purchased the house/lot next door. I plan to demolish that house and incorporate the yard into my yard, giving me just about an acre. I plan to build a detached garage/workshop (~1,000 sq feet) on the additional space. Since I will be joining the two lots into one, I cannot have a separate power meter installed in the new lot. So I have to run power from my existing meter to the new. But my power is connected to the south side of my house and the new garage will be about 150 feet to the north, with my house and in-ground pool in between.

What am I looking at as far as getting electric over there?

I could run a line through the attic, and down to the ground and then under ground to the new structure.

Or I could run an underground line all the way around the house and pool, but that would probably add an extra 150 feet to the run.

Or, my current air conditioner is on the North side of the house with a 220 volt line already there. Could I potentially tap off of that and run about 75 feet under ground to the new workshop?

How big a job (cost wise) am I looking at? I know heavy copper wire is $$$ these days. Plus qualified electricians don't come cheap.

If I do NOT join the two properties, I could have a dedicated power meter and water hookup installed, but that would entail substantial additional utility bills. Plus, annual property taxes would be much higher that way. Plus, a new structure on single lot requires 1500 square foot minimum structure and I don't want something that big. (Well, I do but my wife doesn't).
Click to expand...
When you say "...joining the two lots into one..." do you mean legally? You will have the Plat Maps changed and all that? Or do you mean your just gonna knock down the fence and use them both. The former can be pretty expensive I think. If not then I don't think there should be a problem with the lot you just bought keeping it's own meter. If you don't 'join them' legally I think there is likely to be some Codes against running electric across the lot lines. Also, distance from the Electric Company's Transformer could be an issue. There is a limit to how far from it you can go without getting to much Voltage drop for it to be useful. It could be that your Lot and the one you just bought might be on different transformers.
 
So, there are a few things here....
First, are you sure you have to "adjoin" the properties? We bought 10 acres, next to our 10 acres. To declare the homestead exemption in our state, they just had to be adjoining with only one home between the two...they didn't need to be the same tax ID....although that did take some " 'splainin' " on our part to the township.
If they do require them to be on one tax ID, then you'll just have to run a LOOOOONG underground, very substantial, service wire. Expect it to cost in the thousands. Expensive but not ridiculous considering the overall cost of your project.
 
I’d dig a trench, put in bigger than you need conduit, capable of pulling whatever you might need in the future, and run whatever you can afford now.

Piggy backing off existing is feasible... but seems just not quite right.

I’d also just subpanel it. No need for expensive electricians. It’s not that hard. Look up tables, lengths, etc. probably get by 10ga for 300’ for a good 20 amp circuit. But double check.
 
Note: You can use aluminum feeders with appropriate terminations. Lotta that being used these days.
 
flyingron said:
First off, what are the power requirements at the outbuilding? That makes a difference.
You can't go over or under the pool. The longer you go, the larger the wire needs to be to forstall resistive losses. You need to trench direct bury in 24" (you can go to 6" if you use conduit and you don't pass under driveways, etc..)

I have no idea what your local environment is like, but here it's got nothing whatsoever to do with "combining lots." You can't get more than one service (i.e. meter) per structure, but multiple structures, they're happy to serve even if they are on the same lot.
Click to expand...
Yeah. Different municipalities and utilities are going to have different rules and policies. I put an Auxiliary Dwelling Unit on my lot. It got it's own address and meters, water and electric. No lot division, just two houses on one lot. I did have to pay to have a new Transformer put in. The original house was at about the limit of how far from a transformer a meter could be. The new one exceeded that distance, so a new transformer was put in the cities right of way of my lot.
 
Instead of 1000 square feet think 1600 square feet and tall enough for a second floor for storage...:lol:

My property (county, not city) has two addresses. One for the house and one for the detached garage. One property tax but two electric meters. And 2 electric bills. But right now electricity is cheaper than propane.

Thank goodness I am on a well because water tends to be a little expensive in the desert.
 
JOhnH said:
Since I will be joining the two lots into one, I cannot have a separate power meter installed in the new lot.
Click to expand...

Have the new service installed before you amalgamate the two lots.
I did the same with water wells, but in reverse; cant drill unless you have 10ac, so Im drilling before subdividing.
 
SkyDog58 said:
Install a small nuclear reactor. You could use the pool water as coolant and it would heat the pool. Bonus!
Click to expand...
Ey0ixokVoAEb-GU
 
Turn it into an income property, if jurisdiction allows, and build an upstairs apartment. Rent reimburses some of the capital cost and expenses. Build bigger.

Being a landlord is not for everyone though.
 
Solar panels + Tesla PowerWall?
 
Are you are getting it permitted or is it "just sort of happening"? If getting permits, is there an advantage to keeping some portion of the existing structure to reduce costs related to new build vs remodel. This all depends on your local codes. Depending on how your service entrance is configured and your foundation, it may be shorter to go under your house to subpanel at the detached garage.

or do an off the grid solar panel and battery thing depending on your anticipated load. Water is easy to run and throw in a composting toilet so you don't have to put in a waste line. If #1 is your only concern, then a well placed tree will suffice in lieu of toilet with outdoor sink over a gravel basin. Even an outdoor shower would be easy. Then buy a few more (or several lots) so you can get to your desired outcome of your own personal airpark.
 
If you’re permitting the building, I think you could get a separate power meter. That would be the easiest way, have the power company bill you on the same bill.
 
Tools said:
I’d dig a trench, put in bigger than you need conduit, capable of pulling whatever you might need in the future, and run whatever you can afford now.

Piggy backing off existing is feasible... but seems just not quite right.

I’d also just subpanel it. No need for expensive electricians. It’s not that hard. Look up tables, lengths, etc. probably get by 10ga for 300’ for a good 20 amp circuit. But double check.
Click to expand...
I wonder what he's going to put in the workshop and how many Amps he's going to want out there. I ran a circuit from the house to a setup I had out back for an RV hook up. Put a sub panel out there fed from the house main panel. I didn't want to have to go to the house to reset a tripped breaker. So the breaker in the house was a higher amperage then the breaker out at the RV site. That way, it would trip there before tripping the one in the main at the house and I could reset out there. @JOhnH , how much juice do you want out there? 220/240 volts?
 
I’d just call a good electrician in my area and ask them if it was their place, what would they do.
 
There has to be a misunderstanding on the second power meter. I can't imagine it being a problem of having two different meters at one address, it's not that uncommon. I'd seriously investigate that avenue before I'd try to run power from a subpanel on your existing home. If you need to have them run the power meter BEFORE you join the properties, then do that. Power company won't likely know or care about it after the meter is already there and being paid by you.
 
SoonerAviator said:
There has to be a misunderstanding on the second power meter. I can't imagine it being a problem of having two different meters at one address, it's not that uncommon. I'd seriously investigate that avenue before I'd try to run power from a subpanel on your existing home. If you need to have them run the power meter BEFORE you join the properties, then do that. Power company won't likely know or care about it after the meter is already there and being paid by you.
Click to expand...
I don’t see it being impossible, but it could become economically disadvantageous. Two meters means you pay the fixed cost of your electric bill twice for what might turn out to be a tiny amount of electricity consumed.

We had a similar problem with our HOA. It exists almost solely to maintain two lamps at the end of the street. Those lamps use about a dollar’s worth of electricity a month with LED bulbs, but the cost just to have the meter is $95/month because technically it’s a non-residential account. That’s an extreme example, but I’m sure there could be a similar consideration.

Also, we ditched the meter and are converting the lights to solar.
 
bluesky74656 said:
I don’t see it being impossible, but it could become economically disadvantageous. Two meters means you pay the fixed cost of your electric bill twice for what might turn out to be a tiny amount of electricity consumed.

We had a similar problem with our HOA. It exists almost solely to maintain two lamps at the end of the street. Those lamps use about a dollar’s worth of electricity a month with LED bulbs, but the cost just to have the meter is $95/month because technically it’s a non-residential account. That’s an extreme example, but I’m sure there could be a similar consideration.

Also, we ditched the meter and are converting the lights to solar.
Click to expand...
I don't discount the extra money for the fixed metering cost each month on the bill. However, if he needs any substantial power I'd really hate to be hamstrung about it years down the road. I think I'd want a 100A service at a minimum, personally. I'm sure that could be run off of the existing house, but that's a pretty good amount of power to be running a couple hundred feet away and he may not have that headroom on his existing service line.
 
JOhnH said:
I live on a corner and I just purchased the house/lot next door. I plan to demolish that house and incorporate the yard into my yard, giving me just about an acre. I plan to build a detached garage/workshop (~1,000 sq feet) on the additional space. Since I will be joining the two lots into one, I cannot have a separate power meter installed in the new lot. So I have to run power from my existing meter to the new. But my power is connected to the south side of my house and the new garage will be about 150 feet to the north, with my house and in-ground pool in between.

What am I looking at as far as getting electric over there?

I could run a line through the attic, and down to the ground and then under ground to the new structure.

Or I could run an underground line all the way around the house and pool, but that would probably add an extra 150 feet to the run.

Or, my current air conditioner is on the North side of the house with a 220 volt line already there. Could I potentially tap off of that and run about 75 feet under ground to the new workshop?

How big a job (cost wise) am I looking at? I know heavy copper wire is $$$ these days. Plus qualified electricians don't come cheap.

If I do NOT join the two properties, I could have a dedicated power meter and water hookup installed, but that would entail substantial additional utility bills. Plus, annual property taxes would be much higher that way. Plus, a new structure on single lot requires 1500 square foot minimum structure and I don't want something that big. (Well, I do but my wife doesn't).
Click to expand...
Like said get with a good builder and electrician before you do anything.

Years ago I had a electrician take my 100 amp panel out of my basement and install it in my separate garage out back. He then put a 200 amp service in my house/basement.

That was 25 years ago, 300 amps is probably more like it today?

Since then I have ran all kinds of outlets from the garage like spa, pressure washer, welders, plasma cutter and a 50 amp 120volt outlet for the RV. Pretty sure I have aluminum wiring going underground from the house to the garage.

I would do everything possible to only have one electric meter unless it is going to be a rental unit.
 
Last edited:
Lots of good advice, and lots of good questions that I didn't address on the original post.

There are some odd regs here. If I build an ADU (Auxiliary Dwelling Unit) on the same lot (ie, combining the two lots in the plat books) as the main house, the ADU can only be a maximum of 1/2 the sq footage of the main house and must run off the same electric meter. My main house is only about 2,200 sq feet, so that limits me to 1,100 sq ft.

If I leave the two lots separate, the minimum square footage is 1,500 sq feet and must have a separate meter and meet all residential codes, including having a kitchen and bathrrom. That means a minimum monthly electric bill of around $70, PLUS usage charges. It would also need a separate water meter with similar minimum monthly charges (for sewer, trash and recycle pickup and water usage). Also, the annual property tax would be much higher. Probably an additional $3k/year. So the annual costs add up if I leave it as a separate taxable unit. Also, I have to consider that I don't want a separate house bigger than 1,500 sq ft. It wouldn't make sense for me.

As for the amount of power I would need, I don't anticipate that much. But I don't want to limit it for future use. My immediate plans would be for lights, a well pump, possibly an air conditioner, a table saw and a drill press. Most power tools would only be used one at a time. But I feel I should also equip it for future needs, like possibly an EV charging station. And I have learned that power requirements almost always exceed what you plan for. So I'd like to run at least 100 amps.

I will be engaging an architect, and I will contact an electrician for specific details. I was just wondering how big a project I am looking at as far as extending electric service.

Even if we don't build an ADU, we plan to turn the extra 1/2 acre into a native plant and pollinator garden. Sort of like a miniature botanical garden.
 
Champagne dreams, beer budget. Don’t see why you’re asking us for general advice given specific wants/needs.
 
It’s always good to have some idea of options before speaking to a professional, lots of professions have those that make a living off the uneducated. Given what you describe of load, that’s standard garage shop stuff. 100 amp service will be more than enough. I would still suggest getting a little more info on the solar options, either for the whole building or just ev charging. There are some interesting ev solar kits on market now that will only become more prevalent so should be easy add later if you don’t want to over service now.
 
SoonerAviator said:
There has to be a misunderstanding on the second power meter. I can't imagine it being a problem of having two different meters at one address, it's not that uncommon. I'd seriously investigate that avenue before I'd try to run power from a subpanel on your existing home. If you need to have them run the power meter BEFORE you join the properties, then do that. Power company won't likely know or care about it after the meter is already there and being paid by you.
Click to expand...
Zoning here prohibits two meters on a lot zoned for single family.

If there's capacity on the main panel, it'd put in a large breaker and run line through the house to a subpanel in the garage. Else see if you can have a separate panel off the meter.
 
Do you have garages on both lots and are they at the back of the lot? You could run a line between the two, or if not then you have to dig a line. If your home only has 100A service then that’s going to be problematic when running multiple things at once. Going solar could be an option as well.
 
NoBShere said:
It’s always good to have some idea of options before speaking to a professional, lots of professions have those that make a living off the uneducated.
Click to expand...
Thank you. That is exactly what I am doing. I want to understand as much as I can before I talk to the pros.

NoBShere said:
Given what you describe of load, that’s standard garage shop stuff. 100 amp service will be more than enough. I would still suggest getting a little more info on the solar options, either for the whole building or just ev charging. There are some interesting ev solar kits on market now that will only become more prevalent so should be easy add later if you don’t want to over service now.
Click to expand...
One of my ideas is to construct the new garage roof in such a manner as to be "solar ready". That is, it will beoriented facing south, in a location where the large live oaks don't obscure the sun as much and the roof will be at the best angle for solar efficiency. But I'm probably going to hold off on solar installation right away, both because of cost and because I anticipate some major battery improvements in the near future.

As I think about it, that also means that the cable I run from house A to house B will also need to be sufficient to runs solar generated power from B back to A in the event of loss of grid power. My existing house has all the good solar collecting locations taken up with solar pool heater panels. I love those things. I was warned against them but they allow me to extend my swimming season from June through August to March through November. My pool is in the shade which is why it had such a short season considering I am in Florida.

I also plan to make it as hurricane resistant as possible since I am on the edge of the inter-coastal waterway in Central Florida and winds and storm surge is something to consider. It will be somewhat elevated,reinforced walls and a
steel roof.
 
bluesky74656 said:
I don’t see it being impossible, but it could become economically disadvantageous. Two meters means you pay the fixed cost of your electric bill twice for what might turn out to be a tiny amount of electricity consumed.
Click to expand...
Depends on where you live, I guess. We have no "fixed" cost of the service. We've got four meters running various common areas of the runway, etc... I looked at it and there's no advantage of consolidating the accounts (other than to save me having to write more than one check each month). There's a fixed minimum amount (amusingly right now it comes to $22.22) but we rarely get caught by that.
 
JOhnH said:
Thank you. That is exactly what I am doing. I want to understand as much as I can before I talk to the pros.


One of my ideas is to construct the new garage roof in such a manner as to be "solar ready". That is, it will beoriented facing south, in a location where the large live oaks don't obscure the sun as much and the roof will be at the best angle for solar efficiency. But I'm probably going to hold off on solar installation right away, both because of cost and because I anticipate some major battery improvements in the near future.

As I think about it, that also means that the cable I run from house A to house B will also need to be sufficient to runs solar generated power from B back to A in the event of loss of grid power. My existing house has all the good solar collecting locations taken up with solar pool heater panels. I love those things. I was warned against them but they allow me to extend my swimming season from June through August to March through November. My pool is in the shade which is why it had such a short season considering I am in Florida.

I also plan to make it as hurricane resistant as possible since I am on the edge of the inter-coastal waterway in Central Florida and winds and storm surge is something to consider. It will be somewhat elevated,reinforced walls and a
steel roof.
Click to expand...

In regards to the service between house and garage to supply power during an outage, you will start to get into other items like transfer switch. Nothing insurmountable just another item. Depending on your typical outage, can you be comfortable enough with just having power at your garage during those times? Do you need full redundancy or just a few items like fridge, hotwater heater, a few outlets? If you find yourself in a place where you have to do some value engineering, might be options there. Let's face it, most people (myself included) have homes that are bigger than what we need so why power all of it during 4 to 14 days per year (?) when the power goes out.

Btw, I am starting to think about backup power and trying to think through what i actually need rather than what someone wants to sell me without going too minimalist.
 
Electrical work means an inspector, an inspector means codes, codes means there is no easy around it.
 
Last edited:
NoBShere said:
In regards to the service between house and garage to supply power during an outage, you will start to get into other items like transfer switch. Nothing insurmountable just another item. Depending on your typical outage, can you be comfortable enough with just having power at your garage during those times? Do you need full redundancy or just a few items like fridge, hotwater heater, a few outlets? If you find yourself in a place where you have to do some value engineering, might be options there. Let's face it, most people (myself included) have homes that are bigger than what we need so why power all of it during 4 to 14 days per year (?) when the power goes out.

Btw, I am starting to think about backup power and trying to think through what i actually need rather than what someone wants to sell me without going too minimalist.
Click to expand...

Lol generator might be the easiest solution. Just keep the garage entirely off-grid and use a natural gas or propane-fueled generator to run power for the building unless the power needs to be constant. A couple of solar panels and a small battery bank to handle trickle chargers/lights. Use the generator for anything of significant draw. Just depends on what his power consumption will be.
 
Ventucky Red said:
Electrical work means an inspector, an inspector means codes, codes means there is no easy around it.
Click to expand...
Never said I expected it to be easy or cheap.

But then again, this suggestion might make sense in the beginning:
SoonerAviator said:
Lol generator might be the easiest solution. Just keep the garage entirely off-grid and use a natural gas or propane-fueled generator to run power for the building unless the power needs to be constant. A couple of solar panels and a small battery bank to handle trickle chargers/lights. Use the generator for anything of significant draw. Just depends on what his power consumption will be.
Click to expand...
I already have a small gas generator. Perhaps I could add a small solar kit to start with and upgrade it later.
I already have a transfer switch in the main house. In case of a power outage, I could roll the generator back here temporarily.
 
If you run the power underground use continuous polyethlene tube of at least 2" in diameter for conduit, most rodents can't get their mouths open enough to chew through anything 2" or larger. I like to use black poly as it is tough and can be purchased in rolls up to 300 feet long pretty economically. Definitely use conduit (poly or other) if you use aluminum wire. Aluminum is notorious for degrading and if you have a continuous run of poly buried it is easy to pull in a new wire. If you are going to but up a building I would use a pre-engineered steel building, spans are typically 20 feet apart (some buildings have spans 25 or more). Two end spans and one in the middle make a standard 40 foot long building. Personally I would not make a shop/garage any smaller than 40 x 40 with an eave height of 14 feet so that a 14 foot overhead door could be placed in one end wall. But for sure plan on a minimum side wall of 12 feet so that you can back in that large camper with the A/C on the roof. My main shop has 13 foot sidewalls sitting on top of a one foot concrete stem wall for 14 feet which I like, anything that is legal to go down the road can be put in my buildings. Dirt is tapered from about 8"-10" above the floor around the perimeter up against the stem wall, except at the doorways, which helps keep the floor warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, also keeps the area well drained from rainfall and snow melt. I believe in two doors on opposite ends of the buildings so that if there is a fire there are two ways to exit. On the second steel building I put up I discovered it was cheaper to install a 9 foot garage door than a framed walk thru door. It is cheaper and more efficient to put the bigger doors on the end walls. I also prefer the walk thru doors placed on the end walls as the rain is not running on you while you are unlocking the door and if you are in cold country less problems wih the door locks freezing up. With a steel building you will likely spend more on a concrete floor than on the building itself. On one of my buildings (50' x 63') where electricity was not feasible I put a 4 foot tall opaque panel in each span on the West wall just below the eave. This building has three 21 foot spans with 7 sheets of three feet wide steel panels in each span making it easy to center the light gathering panels. My smallest building is 24 x 40, it serves the purpose but whatever you build it will not be large enough. My 60 x 80 is too small too.
 
Last edited:
Briar Rabbit said:
If you run the power underground use continuous polyethlene tube of at least 2" in diameter for conduit, most rodents can't get their mouths open enough to chew through anything 2" or larger. I like to use black poly as it is tough and can be purchased in rolls up to 300 feet long pretty economically. Definitely use conduit (poly or other) if you use aluminum wire. Aluminum is notorious for degrading and if you have a continuous run of poly buried it is easy to pull in a new wire. If you are going to but up a building I would use a pre-engineered steel building, spans are typically 20 feet apart (some buildings have spans 25 or more). Two end spans and one in the middle make a standard 40 foot long building. Personally I would not make a shop/garage any smaller than 40 x 40 with an eave height of 14 feet so that a 14 foot overhead door could be placed in one end wall. But for sure plan on a minimum side wall of 12 feet so that you can back in that large camper with the A/C on the roof. My main shop has 13 foot sidewalls sitting on top of a one foot concrete stem wall for 14 feet which I like, anything that is legal to go down the road can be put in my buildings. Dirt is tapered from about 8"-10" above the floor around the perimeter up against the stem wall, except at the doorways, which helps keep the floor warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, also keeps the area well drained from rainfall and snow melt. I believe in two doors on opposite ends of the buildings so that if there is a fire there are two ways to exit. On the second steel building I put up I discovered it was cheaper to install a 9 foot garage door than a framed walk thru door. It is cheaper and more efficient to put the bigger doors on the end walls. I also prefer the walk thru doors on the end walls as the rain is not running on you while you are unlocking the door and if you are in cold country less problems wih the door locks freezing up. With a steel building you will likely spend more on a concrete floor than on the building itself. On one of my buildings where elctricity was not feasible I put a 4 foot tall opaque panel in each span on the West wall just below the eave. This building has three 21 foot spans with 7 sheets of three feet wide steel panels in each span making it easy to center the light gathering panels. My smallest building is 24 x 40, it serves the purpose but watever you build it will not be large enough. My 60 x 80 is too small too.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the electrical advice. That is the kind of information I was looking for.

As to the steel building, and the size, I am strictly limited by building codes. The aux building has to be the same architectural design as the primary building (stucco over cement block), but can only be 1/2 the size of the heated living portion of the main house. So 26X40 is about the biggest I can go. I want to make the southern exposure longest for solar panels.
 
Go to the website garagejournal.com and look through the electrical section in their forums. A garage 150 feet from the house needing power is not unusual at all for that group there. The way most people do this is to run 2-2-2-4 MHF (mobile home feeder) from a dedicated 90 amp breaker in their house panel through buried conduit (18" deep) to a sub-panel in the garage. You then run any circuits you want in the garage off that subpanel. Wire is around $2 a foot, the sub panel around $75, conduit and connectors probably another $100. Materials will likely be around $500 if you do it yourself much more if you hire someone to dig the trench and do it for you. This is a pretty easy DIY project as long as you read up on how to properly do it to code. The website above will point you in the right direction.
 
JOhnH said:
Thanks for the electrical advice. That is the kind of information I was looking for.

As to the steel building, and the size, I am strictly limited by building codes. The aux building has to be the same architectural design as the primary building (stucco over cement block), but can only be 1/2 the size of the heated living portion of the main house. So 26X40 is about the biggest I can go. I want to make the southern exposure longest for solar panels.
Click to expand...
30x40 is a pretty common shop/garage building size, so you might see if that is feasible. You also might consider putting a 12' lean-to across the entire back side which greatly expands the utility of said building with additional covered area. We use ours for storing a car hauler/utility trailer and spare parts/lumber out of the direct sun/weather as well as a patio table/chairs for cooling off when working in the shop with sparse airflow. I don't think the lean-to gets included on the square footage of the building, but you might double-check that. You could at least design the shop so that it would be an easy addition after everything is signed off on, so that it has already passed code inspections.
 
Briar Rabbit said:
If you run the power underground use continuous polyethlene tube of at least 2" in diameter for conduit,\\
Click to expand...
I'm not aware of any listed conduit that is made from polyethylene. PVC is about the only thing out there.

Definitely use conduit (poly or other) if you use aluminum wire. Aluminum is notorious for degrading and if you have a continuous run of poly buried it is easy to pull in a new wire.
Click to expand...
Nonsense.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top